The Senate confirmation comes despite objections from US Democrats over his anti-vaccine views

RFK Jr. ©  Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

The US Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday. The confirmation was secured despite Democratic objections to what they described as Kennedy’s promotion of ‘conspiracy theories’ about vaccines and nutrition.

The vote was largely divided along party lines, with 52 Republicans supporting the nomination and 48 Democrats opposing it. Former GOP leader Mitch McConnell was the only Republican to vote against the confirmation.

Kennedy, 71, an environmental lawyer, was nominated by US President Donald Trump shortly after his reelection victory in November last year.

The vote breakdown marks the second time in as many days that McConnell has opposed one of Trump’s nominees. He was the only Republican to oppose the confirmation of Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence on Wednesday.

McConnell said he refused back RFK Jr. due to the nominee’s vaccine skepticism. “I’m a survivor of childhood polio ... I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” McConnell stated.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement that “when dangerous diseases make a comeback and people struggle to access lifesaving vaccines, all Americans will pay the price.”

Warren also warned that “with his significant, unresolved conflicts of interest, RFK Jr.’s family could continue profiting from his anti-vaccine agenda while he holds office.”

 

 

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Kennedy, the founder of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, has gained prominence in the US for questioning the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccinations and promoting the claim that vaccines are linked to autism. He was also a vocal critic of the Covid-19 response measures recommended by the World Health Organization, including the strict lockdowns and rapid rollout of vaccines.

Despite this, Kennedy denies being opposed to vaccination, noting that his own children are immunized. During his confirmation hearings, he stated that he simply advocates for stricter studies and safety testing of vaccines.

Following an unsuccessful independent presidential bid, Kennedy joined Trump’s campaign, with the latter vowing to let him “go wild” on healthcare policy.

Kennedy has publicly backed Trump’s pledge to end the Ukraine conflict quickly. In a 2023 interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, he alleged that the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington’s primary agency for funding political projects abroad, had funneled $5 billion to support the protests that led to the 2014 Maidan coup. In the interview, Kennedy described USAID as a front for the CIA. He also referenced a leaked phone call between then-US diplomat Victoria Nuland and the US ambassador to Ukraine, in which Nuland was heard selecting members of Ukraine’s post-coup government – just weeks before the president was overthrown.

Kennedy is the son of former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy.